Localhost Single Container Environment

Plugin Type: Network Environment Source Location: plugins/environments/network_environment/localhost_single_container/

Overview

The Localhost Single Container Environment plugin provides a lightweight containerized testing environment where all services run in a single Docker container on localhost. This environment is ideal for simple protocol testing with minimal network complexity, offering quick setup and execution for development and initial verification of protocol implementations.

Configuration Options

network_environment:
  type: "localhost_single_container"
  version: "3.8"              # Docker Compose file version
  network_name: "default_network"  # Name of the virtual network
  service_prefix: "test_"     # Optional prefix for service names
  environment:                # Optional environment variables
    DEBUG: "true"
    LOG_LEVEL: "info"

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
type	string	Yes	-	Must be "localhost_single_container"
version	string	No	"3.8"	Docker version specification
network_name	string	No	"default_network"	Name for the container's network
service_prefix	string	No	None	Prefix for service names
environment	dict	No	{}	Environment variables for all services

Usage Example

tests:
  - name: "Basic Localhost Test"
    network_environment:
      type: "localhost_single_container"
    services:
      server:
        name: "http_server"
        implementation:
          name: "nginx"
          type: "iut"
      client:
        name: "http_client"
        implementation:
          name: "curl"
          type: "tester"

Integration

• Integrates with the PANTHER event management system for lifecycle coordination
• Uses EnvironmentManagerDockerMixin for consistent Docker operations across all network environments
• Services communicate directly via localhost networking within a single container
• Suitable for rapid development iterations before moving to multi-container environments

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Port conflicts	Check for port conflicts with other running containers or processes and adjust port mappings
Inter-service communication	Ensure proper service name resolution by using the correct target service name
Resource constraints	Adjust Docker resource limits (--memory, --cpus) for the container
Empty FROM in Dockerfile	Ensure you are using the latest version with EnvironmentManagerDockerMixin integration

For more detailed debugging, use environment variables to enable debug logs, inspect container logs with docker logs, or use docker exec -it <container> /bin/bash for manual inspection.